Vaccine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Antibody induction by virosomal, MF59-adjuvanted, or conventional influenza vaccines in the elderly.
In a randomized, observer-blind, three-arm, parallel group, multi-centre trial including 386 elderly subjects in four countries, the immunogenicity and safety was studied of three different trivalent inactivated surface antigen (subunit) influenza vaccine types: a conventional subunit influenza vaccine (SIV, brand: Influvac and two newer vaccines: a MF59-adjuvanted subunit influenza vaccine (adSIV, brand: Fluad and a virosomal subunit influenza vaccine (vSIV, brand: Invivac. All vaccines were trivalent containing 15 microg hemagglutinin of each virus strain as recommended by the World Health Organization for the 2004-2005 season. The study was designed to demonstrate the serological non-inferiority of vSIV to both adSIV and SIV in elderly persons. ⋯ Vaccinations caused only little inconvenience as measured by questionnaire. In general, all vaccines were safe and well tolerated. In this trial, virosomal vaccine had similar immunogenicity to MF59-adjuvanted and conventional subunit vaccine and was considerably less reactogenic than the MF59-adjuvanted vaccine in the elderly.
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Rotavirus is a common cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children. Two rotavirus vaccines with demonstrated safety and efficacy in large scale clinical trials have recently received universal funding in Australia. ⋯ From a societal perspective both vaccines were found to be cost saving under base-case assumptions. Rotavirus vaccination could be considered a cost-effective health intervention in Australia, however, the cost-effectiveness ratio depends heavily on several parameters, most notably the appropriate scope of the quality of life impact (that of the child, and one or both caregivers), as well as the negotiated vaccine price for a routine program.
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Yellow fever vaccine-associated viscerotropic disease (YEL-AVD) is a rare complication of yellow fever (YF) vaccination. A previously healthy 22-year-old female died following YF vaccination despite aggressive measures. Serial viral load titers, cytokine levels and host genetic factors were evaluated in an attempt to understand this unusual and lethal outcome. The patient's high-titer vaccine viremia and possibly related minor genetic anomalies provide clues to exploring the etiology of YEL-AVD.
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Polysaccharide-based vaccines for serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis have failed to induce protective immunity. As a result, efforts to develop vaccines for serogroup B meningococcal disease have mostly focused on outer membrane proteins (OMP). Vaccine candidates based on meningococcal OMP have emerged in the form of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) or, more recently, purified recombinant proteins, as alternative strategies for serogroup B vaccine development. ⋯ The antiserum produced against the protein was capable to recognize the natural protein in different meningococcal strains by whole-cell ELISA and Western blotting. After immunization, recombinant NMB0928 induced bactericidal antibodies, and when the protein was administered inserted into liposomes, the elicited antibodies were protective in the infant rat model. These results suggest that NMB0928 is a novel antigen worth to be included in a broadly protective meningococcal vaccine.